Ian Williams

Name: Ian Williams

Gender: Male

Age: 18

Grade: 12th

School: Aurora High School

Hobbies and Interests: Taekwondo, Krav Maga, Literature, Video Games, Politics, & Religion, the Book Club, and Speech & Debate.

Appearance: Ian Williams is Caucasian, with green eyes, bushy eyebrows, and sandy hair which he keeps in a simple 'bowl' cut. His face is slightly angled, forming an oval, with a nose well proportioned to his face. His thin lips are usually kept expressionless, though he often breaks into a friendly smile around friends and family. His face is clean shaven, with the exception of a faint outline of hair around his upper lip that he's trying to decide whether to grow out or not. Ian leans a little on the thin side for his age, weighing in at 155 lbs and measuring 5'11".

Ian almost always wears sweat pants or jeans. He usually prefers T-shirts, not giving an inch to the cooler Seattle climate until it starts to freeze. Most of these are fairly plain, but he owns a few humorous ones as well. He owns a pair of white tennis shoes with a black streak across either side. These are starting to show signs of wear, and the white has turned slightly grey over the year. He almost always wears a digital wristwatch with a black velcro band and a metallic silver border, taking it off only when absolutely necessary.

On the day of the abduction, Ian was wearing a dark blue t-shirt, listing Chuck Norris jokes in white print, along with a pair of grey sweats, a pair of white tennis shoes, and his wristwatch.

Biography: Ian was the first of four children born to Brandon and Maria Williams in the suburbs of Houston, Texas. He was eventually followed by a sister and two brothers: Nicole, Aaron, and Joseph, who are two, four, and nine years younger respectively. Ian's mother is a native Texan, while his father has lived in a handful of states during his life, originally hailing from Seattle, Washington. Both parents are licensed pharmacists who met during the course of their work, and the family was financially comfortable through Ian's childhood. His family is devoutly Catholic, as both parents had come back to the faith together after a period of agnosticism, and wanted to make sure that their own children never struggled with the doubts they experienced.

By the time of Ian's birth, his parents had already made the major decision for his mother to quit her job in order to homeschool him. They had several reasons behind this, including the ability to better tailor his education towards his needs, and the desire to bond as a family. However, their primary reason was a desire that Ian be given a more solid, rational foundation for his faith than they felt they had been given. Due to this, they had initially looked into the possibility of sending Ian to a Catholic school. However, they were somewhat uncomfortable with the increasing secularization of many such schools, which, along with their other reasons, led them to find an alternative. Instead, they've been using a more orthodox curriculum they found, thanks to a network of fellow Catholic homeschoolers.

Even as a child, Ian was generally a quiet, obedient kid, easy-going and considerate almost to a fault. These traits often led his parents to joke about winning the lottery, although he was hardly without faults. He had a bit of a lazy streak, and often made careless errors when bored. He could be extremely obstinate on occasion, particularly when he felt he had been wronged. This tendancy led to frequent conflict between himself and his younger sister, Nicole, who's aggressive personality often got on Ian's nerves.

Ian was fairly introverted as a child. While not averse to making friends, and often taking part in various games and activities with his siblings, he generally preferred solitary interests. Of these, literature and video games were his favorites, and he would often spend hours on his own eagerly devouring a novel, or playing one of his games. Ian has been an avid book-worm since the day he learned to read, eagerly devouring new books, and often finishing huge novels in a single day. He loved exploring the characters and worlds, imagining the stories as vividly as if he were taking part in them. His parents were supportive of his reading habits, and the family started making the visits to the library regularly, usually once every two weeks. While his mother would try to at least skim through books before letting Ian read them, he was generally given a fair amount of leeway in what he chose to read. He enjoys most genres to some degree, but he's been particularly fond of the epic fantasy genre since he read Tolkien's "Lord of the Rings" at the age of nine. Even as a child, Ian was fascinated by Tolkien's complex world, and enjoyed many hours reading and re-reading the series. Other favorites of his include the "Belgariad" and "The Wizard of Yurt" series, as he enjoyed their dry sense of humor.

Likewise, video games are one of his oldest friends, starting at the age of five, when Ian's dad let him play on their old SNES system. Ian was quickly hooked, and would often spend hours playing them. His mother tolerated his interest, although she soon limited his time to an hour. He particularly enjoys RPGs, such as the Final Fantasy series, though he likes most types of games. Additionally, he frequently enjoys playing various competitive multi-player games with his younger siblings, which he tends to do well at, thanks to excellent reflexes and greater level of experience.

He's had a healthy relationship with his parents, and was particularly close to his dad, who he looked up to. He respected his father's thoughtful self-control, and tried to emulate him. His father's dry, teasing sense of humor rubbed off on Ian, who learned to respond in kind. This became a problem for a while, as Ian would occasionally go too far teasing his siblings. Ian's mother tends to be stricter, taking a tough but fair approach towards discipline. Despite the occasional tension caused by this, Ian respects her, particularly for her willingness to make sacrifices to allow her children to pursue their interests. Ian's relationship with his siblings has generally been positive. Despite their frequent arguments, Ian and Nicole were fairly close as kids, partly helped by them being nearest in age. Both siblings were naturally competitive, and as a result, they bonded through a friendly, on-going rivalry ranging from video games to homework. His relationship with his brothers was generally quieter. Aaron was the most like Ian out of the four, and the two were usually on good terms. While not quite as competitive as Ian, they shared several interests, and frequently played together as children. Joseph, on the other hand, was extremely extroverted, occasionally causing a bit of awkwardness between him and his older, more reserved brother. Ian had a habit of teasing Joseph for this, although he generally liked his younger brother, and often helped him with his homework.

His early years went by fairly quietly, for the most part. Ian was generally an excellent student, doing fairly well in school with minimal difficulties. He has a logical turn of mind, and tends to do particularly well in math, solving complex problems with relative ease, and occasionally even enjoyment. English, on the other hand, takes a disproportionate amount of effort for merely decent results. He often has trouble organizing and expressing his thoughts, and so he finds it to be a particularly frustrating subject. This wasn't helped by the fact that Ian had a tendancy to make careless errors. Despite these weaknesses, he managed to average from high B's to low A's overall.

In 2005, Ian began to take an interest in martial arts, thanks to a couple of his friends who took Karate. This was encouraged by Ian's father, who had long wanted his kids to learn some form of self-defense, having had the misfortune of growing up in a rough area during his own childhood. Ian's mother agreed with the sentiment, but was uncomfortable with having her kids learning the more dangerous techniques her husband favored. For that reason, they eventually compromised and enrolled their kids in a large, well-established Taekwondo school with a homeschool-friendly schedule shortly before Ian turned twelve. Ian enjoyed the friendly, competitive atmosphere of Taekwondo, and took to it with enthusiasm. While not naturally adept, the competition motivated Ian to put extra effort into his practice, both in class and at home. Although his focus wavered sometimes, the extra training paid off, and Ian generally did very well.

Additionally, the school had recently started branching out shortly before Ian joined, offering a variety of martial arts beyond its specialty. These included Krav Maga, which Ian began to take with his dad after he turned thirteen. Ian was intrigued by the Israeli-based martial art, partly due to his father's preference for more practical forms of self-defense. When the school started offering a promotional discount for the newer classes, Ian took the opportunity to try talking his parents into letting him take Krav. Ian's dad was fairly positive, despite the expense, and even began to take an interest himself. Not surprisingly, Ian's mother was somewhat uncomfortable with this when it was first brought up. However, she let herself be talked into it over time, partly mollified by the instructors' strong emphasis on self-control, as well as the realization that it would help motivate her husband to get back into shape. While he enjoyed the opportunity to bond with his father, Ian didn't put quite as much effort into Krav as Taekwondo, preferring the competitive sport over the more practical Krav. Although he made sure to do well enough to pass the tests, he had a tendancy to coast once he felt comfortable that he could do so. This meant that while he had a decent amount of knowledge, his technique would often get a bit sloppy after testing time. He's currently a first degree black belt in Taekwondo, and a green belt in Krav Maga.

His interest in politics was sparked by the 2008 primaries. While he previously had a peripheral understanding of the current issues, he became fascinated by the tense battle for the nomination in both parties, as well as the variety of viewpoints being advocated. Intrigued, he starting commenting in several discussions on online news articles, often trying to get in a discussion with people with whom he disagreed. This turned into a painful learning process for him, as, due to being rather inexperienced, he often shared his opinion without thinking it all the way through, leading to embarrassment and frustration. Since then, he's made a serious effort to be informed in politics, making sure to research the issues before taking a side. Additionally, this finally motivated him to start working on his ability to express himself, to better defend his views. He tends to be conservative, particularly in the social issues. He doesn't usually bring the subject up himself, but he's willing to discuss his positions respectfully should they come up.

These discussions also led him to take an interest in the logic behind his religion, as well as a mild interest in philosophy. Although he had always been a devout Catholic thanks to his parents influence, he was frustrated to find himself drawing a blank when he was challenged on his faith during one such argument. This motivated him to pick up a handful of his parents' books on apologetics and Christian philosophy, and he soon took an interest in the logic behind them. He was particularly intrigued by the works of C.S. Lewis, who's intellectual case for the Christian faith in his book, "Mere Christianity", inspired a mild interest in philosophy. Not surprisingly, he tended to be most interested in traditional Christian philosophers, such as Thomas Aquinas, and G.K. Chesterton, who he likes to quote on occasion. However, he also looked at works by prominent atheists, though this was more for comparsion than anything else. Ian considers himself firmly Catholic, but treats people of other faiths with respect, enjoying the occasional friendly discussion. When discussing his views, he makes an effort to connect with people through reason and common beliefs.

Ian's life was shaken up when his father's store was closed down in early 2010, due to the chain down-sizing significantly in the Houston & Dallas area. His father was offered a number of options, including a transfer to Seattle. After a long discussion with the rest of the family, his dad chose to accept the transfer, deciding that the accompanying pay raise, along with being near his extended family, outweighed the stress of moving. Despite the raise, his mother also had to return to work, in order for the family to recover from the expense of moving. With homeschooling no longer a practical option for the family due to lack of time and money, Ian's family turned to public school. Although he's tried to be positive for his younger siblings, he hasn't taken the move very well. While it's not as bad as he feared initially, he's unhappy over leaving his friends and decent Tex-Mex behind. Also, without the competition and focus of his martial arts classes to motivate him, Ian slowly began to let his training slide over the next two years, until he was down to a basic training session his dad insisted on. As a result, he's become a bit rusty, although he's still in decent physical shape.

Even so, the transfer to Aurora High School went through fairly well, and Ian adapted to the new schedule without any major problems. His daily life carried on much the same, otherwise. His wide variety of interests and easygoing personality have helped him make some friends over the last two years, and he's joined a couple of the clubs that caught his interest, such as the Book Club, which he joined as part of his effort to improve his ability to express himself, as well as finding others interested in literature. Despite this, he usually prefers to keep quiet and listen to the conversation, interjecting his thoughts every once in awhile, particularly if he wants to argue a point. He joined Speech & Debate as an experiment, as he hoped it would help him learn to organize and articulate his thoughts better when discussing his views. This was partly due to him being slightly depressed by Seattle's strong liberal bent, as very few seem to share or respect his beliefs. However, while he takes his views seriously, he has nothing against making friends with people who disagree with him, and enjoys the occasional friendly discussion. He takes a great deal of care to be respectful to other people, regardless of how he feels about their position, and makes an effort to understand things from their perspective even when he strongly disagrees.

Socially, Ian was able to adapt fairly well to Aurora High School, helped by his wide variety of interests, which allowed him to fit in with most people. Ian is usually somewhat quiet and reserved, but he's amiable to those who talk with him, and has a friendly sense of humor. He takes friendship seriously, and will go well out of his way to help his friends. He has a strong competitive streak and enjoys a friendly challenge, though he never takes the result of these challenges too seriously. Ian isn't easily offended and usually remains calm and clear-headed under pressure. He dislikes conflict, and tries to defuse any tension through compromise or humor, often acting as a mediator between friends. In event that somebody manages to get on his nerves, he reacts with sarcasm, preferring to avoid strong language, and being uncomfortable with actual profanity. He's usually a very rational person, and good at keeping things in perspective. He has yet to decide exactly what he wants to do with his life, beyond the nebulous goal of attending a good college. He's currently looking into computer engineering as a career, but he wants to keep a variety of options open, as he's still unsure what he wants to study. To this end he's kept his grades up, and made an effort to improve his scores in English with some success, as well as taking greater care to avoid careless errors. As a result, he managed to bring his GPA up to a 3.8 during his senior year.

Advantages: Ian does well under pressure, able to act quickly while remaining calm. His talent for mediating between friends has the potential to serve him well should he need to negotiate. Additionally, his experience with martial arts should give him an edge against untrained opponents.

Disadvantages: Due to letting his martial arts training slide, he's become rusty, making him likely to make a mistake in a potentially serious situation. Despite some improvements in this area, his tendency to make careless mistakes when not focusing has the potential to get him into a bad situation. His concern for his friends may cause him to take risks he wouldn't otherwise consider.

Designated Number: Male student No. 037

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Designated Weapon: Polaroid Instant Camera With Film (Enough for 8 photographs)

Conclusion: We'll see how this goes. B037 should be fine without a weapon, but I just don't see good things in his future. Call it a gut hunch. - Christina Stockton

'The above biography is as written by VysePresident. No edits or alterations to the author's original work have been made.'

Evaluations
Handled by: VysePresident

Kills: Paulo Abbate, Alda Abbate

Killed By: Mirabella Strong

Collected Weapons: Polaroid Instant Camera With Film (Enough for 8 photographs) (Assigned Weapon)

Allies: Mirabella Strong, Juhan Levandi, Takeshi Yoshikawa

Enemies: Paulo Abbate, Alda Abbate, Mirabella Strong

Mid-game Evaluation:

Post-Game Evaluation:

Memorable Quotes:

Threads
Below is a list of threads that contain Ian, in chronological order.

The Past:
 * Bookworms
 * Birds of a Feather

V5:


 * Dawn of the First Day
 * The two people in the distance were Paulo and Becca
 * Mischief Managed
 * Sleeper Cell
 * Blown off Course
 * Mata Leao
 * So, How Was Your Day?
 * Intermission
 * Glass

Your Thoughts
''Whether you were a fellow handler in SOTF or just an avid reader of the site, we'd like to know what you thought about Ian Williams. What did you like, or dislike, about the character? Let us know here!''

Ian's pretty cool, and is one of the few characters involved in the escape plot who I felt didn't become a worse character by it, which is probably helped by the fact that he was one of two characters who took centre stage in it. Part of why I like him is mostly because of how human he feels. He's thoughtful, scared of the situation, and he actually manages time to put a little bit of humour into his narrative on the side, making me smile a bit and helping his image of a normal kid. I feel like his biggest problem does lie with the escape group though, as after a certain point in his story he just enters this massive lull and hangs with the remnants of the escape group until he dies. He does have two really well written fight scenes during this time, with both being really neatly choreographed and bringing consequences to his story that eventually lead to the dissolution of the post-escape group and his death, so that helps make the lull slightly more bearable for me. His death, although it goes on a little longer than it should, is also good. Overall, I'd recommend him, although with the fair warning that he does have massive issues with the way his story's paced. - Yugikun